The Russellville High School (RHS) Quiz Bowl team won Saturday's 6A West Region quiz bowl tournament at Lake Hamilton.

The team was undefeated on the day, 5-0, and the win qualifies RHS for the 6A state tournament April 12 at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

"Our kids really played well today," Coach Paul Gray said. "We've been working on a lot of game situations in practice. The kids responded so well to what we have been asking them to do. We are really proud of how they played. We won region last year, too, but failed to get into the 6A finals. We will start working hard on Monday to reach our goal this year."

On Saturday, RHS drew Mountain Home in a tough game one, and fell behind in the first quarter. The Cyclones maintained their cool and were able to pull ahead in the second quarter and keep the lead in the third. The game remained close until the finish, with RHS taking the victory 250-235.

In game two, the Cyclones jumped to an early lead, but fell behind Greenwood in the second quarter. The team went on a 220-30 run and beat Greenwood handily 325-150.

In game three, RHS recovered from an early deficit against defending 6A state champion, Searcy. The Cyclones used a strong second quarter to build a small lead and won 270-230.

Coach Brandon Cooper talked about the toughness of the team.

"These kids fell behind against Mountain Home and Searcy, but they didn't panic," he said. "They continued to play hard and dominated in the second and third quarters. I am really happy with how they played today."

In game four, RHS took an early lead against host Lake Hamilton and never looked back, winning 250-70. The Cyclones finished the day beating Texarkana 260-120 with strong play in the second and third quarters.

Junior Drew Coker led the Cyclones in scoring on the day with 300 points. Coker also earned All-Region honors and a spot in the All-Star post-season tournament by averaging 60 points a game.

Junior Trevor Guiltner played a key role scoring in the third quarter against Searcy, allowing the Cyclones to keep their lead. Sophomore Giancarlo Sierra added several key third quarter points against Greenwood. Senior Hailey Reed, Junior Eli Aslam and Sophomore Conlee Hale also played for the Cyclones.

RHS will play in the eight-team 6A state tournament in April. The west region win means a one- or two-seed for Russellville in the 6A state tournament, depending on how many points the winner from the 6A East tournament scores.